S4 Capital's Monks Technology Services and VAST Data Partner to Unlock Media Archives and Accelerate AI-Driven Workflows for Global Sports, Broadcasters, and Studios

AMSTERDAM, Sept. 8, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Monks, the global, purely digital, data-driven, unitary operating brand of S4 Capital plc, today announced a strategic partnership with VAST Data, the AI Operating System company. Together, the companies will help media, entertainment and sports organizations unlock the full value of their archives, accelerate live production, and power AI-driven fan experiences.

Meeting Clients Where the Pressure Is Greatest
Broadcasters, sports leagues, and studios are under unprecedented pressure to deliver more content, more quickly, across more platforms — from streaming services and social media to live events and global fan engagement channels.

"MEGS companies are sitting on extraordinary archives of content, but the challenge has always been how to activate that data in real-time," explains Rajiv Malhotra, SVP Channel Partnerships at Monks Technology Services. "By partnering with VAST Data, we're giving broadcasters, leagues, and studios an AI-ready foundation that turns dormant libraries into living assets — powering faster production, personalized fan engagement, and entirely new revenue streams."

By combining Monks' expertise in media workflows with VAST's breakthrough AI OS, clients can:

• Retrieve decades of content instantly to fuel highlights, documentaries, and personalized fan experiences.
• Feed AI pipelines with rich archives for recommendation engines, automated editing, and targeted monetization.
• Simplify infrastructure operations by replacing complex tiered systems with a single, high-performance, unified platform that consolidates storage, database, and compute runtime into a single foundation purpose-built to manage the complete AI lifecycle.
• Scale seamlessly from on-premises to cloud and hybrid environments, keeping pace with global demand.
• Creating seamless media software functions in a dynamic media facility architecture that ensures workflows and resources mirror current state facilities at a fraction of the cost.

"Every media organization we work with is looking for ways to do more with their content libraries," said Lewis Smithingham, EVP of Strategic Industries (Telco, Media, Entertainment, Games, and Sports) at Monks. "Our partnership with VAST gives clients the ability to treat their archives not as static cost centers, but as dynamic engines of fan engagement and revenue. This is about delivering value to audiences in real-time, without compromise."

AI-Ready, Fan-First Infrastructure
The joint solution directly supports initiatives such as the MovieLabs 2030 Vision and the EBU Dynamic Media Facility, where interoperability, automation, and AI-readiness are essential. For clients, this means a future-proof platform that enables:

• Personalized content delivery at scale — from real-time sports highlights to localized programming.
• Faster production cycles for live events and streaming, reducing turnaround from days to minutes.
• Revenue growth through new models like targeted advertising, archive monetization, and immersive fan experiences.

"Media leaders don't just need faster infrastructure – they need smarter ways to turn their data and content archives into engines of growth," said John Mao, Vice President of Strategic Alliances at VAST Data. "Together with Monks, we're empowering clients to transform dormant libraries into active assets that drive fan engagement, AI innovation, and new revenue streams."

See It at IBC 2025
Monks and VAST will debut the partnership at IBC 2025, showcasing how next-generation storage and AI-ready workflows have the potential to transform live sports, entertainment, and media facilities worldwide––by demoing real-time video capture, storage and retrieval through TAMS powered by VAST. Learn more about Monks' presence at IBC.

About Monks
Monks is the global, purely digital, data-driven, unitary operating brand of S4 Capital plc. With a legacy of innovation and specialized expertise, Monks combines an extraordinary range of global Marketing and Technology Services to accelerate business growth and redefine how brands interact with the world. From crafting tailored, outcome-focused campaigns to modernizing critical infrastructure for the ever-evolving digital landscape, Monks delivers solutions that engage audiences in real time, drive cultural relevance and sustain long-term impact—a tripartite approach that establishes it as a trusted partner to the world's most innovative brands.

Monks was named a Contender in The Forrester Wave™: Global Marketing Services, ranks among Cannes Lions' Top 10 Creative Companies (2022-24) and remains the only partner featured in AdExchanger's Programmatic Power Players list every year (2020-24). Named Adweek's first AI Agency of the Year (2023) and The One Show's inaugural AI Pioneer Organization, Monks was also awarded Business Intelligence Group's 2025 Excellence in Artificial Intelligence Award in both the Organizational and AI Product categories. As a trusted partner to cutting-edge innovators in tech, Monks earned titles such as Optimizely Experimentation Partner of the Year (2025), runner-up for the Adobe Firefly Partner Award (2024), and Workato's AI Visionary Customer Impact Award (2024). Additionally, Monks was named Webby Production Company of the Year (2021-24) and achieved a record-breaking number of FWAs.

About S4Capital
S4Capital plc (SFOR.L) is the tech-led, new age/new era digital advertising, marketing and technology services company, established by Sir Martin Sorrell in May 2018.

Our strategy is to build a purely digital advertising and marketing services business for global, multinational, regional, and local clients, and millennial-driven influencer brands. This will be achieved by integrating leading businesses in two synchronised practices: Marketing services and Technology services, along with an emphasis on 'faster, better, cheaper, more' execution in an always-on consumer-led environment, with a unitary structure.

The Company now has approximately 7,000 people in 33 countries with approximately 80% of net revenue across the Americas, 15% across Europe, the Middle East and Africa and 5% across Asia-Pacific. The longer-term objective is a geographic split of 60%:20%:20%. At the Group's last full year results, Content accounted for approximately 60% of net revenue, Data&Digital Media 24% and Technology Services 16%. The long-term objective for the practices is a split of 50%:25%:25%.

Sir Martin was CEO of WPP for 33 years, building it from a £1 million 'shell' company in 1985 into the world's largest advertising and marketing services company, with a market capitalisation of over £16 billion on the day he left. Prior to that Sir Martin was Group Financial Director of Saatchi & Saatchi Company Plc for nine years.

Media Contact:
Sarah Murray
[email protected] 

SOURCE Monks